The dish on The Rogue Tomato

The dish from the chefs behind The Rogue Tomato, a North Valley restaurant whose name says it all.

By Sondra Barr

Photos by Shannon Fisher Photography

When your restaurant is called The Rogue Tomato, the food better be as imaginative as your moniker. And, it is. Since opening in February, The Rogue Tomato has earned a reputation for serving flavorful Sonoran-influenced food that feature fresh, comforting, and creative bistro-style dishes with a twist. From starters like pretzel and chorizo fondue, blue corn crab cakes, roasted red pepper bisque, and grilled asparagus to entrees including roasted pecan chicken and red pepper and Portobello meatloaf, this casual local dining spot serves up food as ferocious as your appetite for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. To find out (and taste) more, North Valley Magazine stopped in to chat with the culinary creatives behind this unique concept.

Chef Shane Copeland, co-owner

Why did you decide to open The Rogue Tomato in Glendale in the North Valley?

We felt this part of town needed a non-corporate chef-based restaurant with the food and feel that was comparable to any of the Scottsdale restaurants that are right in their back yard.

What does it take to own a restaurant?

A lot of hard work, determination, paired with twice as much insanity!

What’s the biggest challenge of opening up a new restaurant concept?

Maintaining the consistency of the vision and the concept while still giving the people what they want without going over budget.

What’s the most unique dish on the menu?

Grilled salmon on top of ginger pistachio risotto surrounded with cinnamon thyme beets and drizzled with a blood orange sauce.

What does the future hold for The Rogue Tomato?

We plan on doing other Rogues around Arizona considering there’s not just a need for chef-based restaurants but also a demand for those places.

Chef Devin Delnicki, co-owner

Why did you decide to open The Rogue Tomato in Glendale in the North Valley?

My wife, Genna, is a native to the area, so we have always shopped, dined, banked, etc. in the Glendale area. When we started getting more serious about opening our own place, we believed we could be a good fit for the neighborhood.

What does it take to own a restaurant?

Well, we are not typical restaurant owners. We are just a pair of regular chefs, hoping people would love our food.

What makes The Rogue Tomato unique?

The first thing that comes to mind is the variety. One of the early themes of the menu is that no one would stare at the menu and be disappointed with the choices. It seems to have worked because I often see tickets in the kitchen that cover the entire spectrum of the menu for the table.

What’s the biggest challenge of opening up a new restaurant concept?

We are first-timers, so a salesperson once told me, “You don’t know what you don’t know!” C, ost over-runs are the most dangerous; not knowing the high rates charged by commercial contractors would be a good example. We didn’t inspect our then potential location thoroughly enough, and found a zillion unexpected things that were broken or pieced together by the previous tenant.

How would you describe the food at The Rogue Tomato?

The food is casual yet refined. You can pronounce and recognize everything on the menu, but we’ve tweaked it for maximum flavor. Anyone can chop up a Portobello mushroom and serve it, but how about we smear it with garlic, drizzle it with olive oil, sprinkle it with fresh thyme, and slow roast it? We do that across the board with everything we make and it helps our food explode with flavor.

What’s the most unique dish on the menu? Why?

I can’t pick just one! We have unique touches on so many dishes. Our flat iron steak sits on top of a Lavosh bread with Chimichurri sauce and is topped with roasted tomatoes and feta cheese. The lemon chicken pasta, even our tenderloin steak, have unique touches.

What’s one of your favorite memories/experiences operating The Rogue Tomato?

Visiting with patrons on a busy night, some are so excited because of the food or The Rogue in general. It’s usually later in the night before I can go out into the dining room, so it’s very relaxed and you get to really know your customers. It makes all the long days worth it.

What does the future hold for The Rogue Tomato?

It’s all about refinement at this point. Getting all the details sorted out so it runs smoothly. Beyond that we look forward to introducing new menu items and hold events such as wine tastings and such.